The present invention relates to improved materials for the elimination of the numerous imperfections which often occur in the making of jewelry models and to a method for improving those models' appearance and/or shape.
The manufacture of jewelry is a lengthy process involving numerous steps. When a designer conceives of an idea for a new jewelry item (for example, a new ring), he or she may create a wax or gold carving or structure which illustrates the new design. This wax or gold structure is known as a "jewel model".
This jewelry model becomes the basis for all further manufacture of the jewelry. In a preferred method, an appropriate material (preferably silicone) is poured or molded around this model and left to harden. Upon hardening, the silicone is cut and the model inside is removed, leaving a silicone mold of the desired jewelry item. A casting of the jewelry is subsequently manufactured by pouring metal into the silicone mold, e.g. by pouring liquid metal into the mold. Once the silicone mold has been completed it can be used to make as many castings as desired, and thus, a single mold can be used to make a large number of pieces of jewelry.
Due to the fact that the silicone mold is used to make all further pieces, it is important that the jewelry model be as perfect as possible before the silicone mold is created. Imperfections, distortions, and porosities in the model (e.g. problems in the model's surface or structure) have to be removed before creation of the silicone mold so that these imperfections do not appear in the final manufactured product. Thus, an important part of the design and manufacturing process is removing these undesirable characteristics from the model, i.e. eliminating the model's imperfections, distortions, porosities and errors.
Numerous methods have been used in the prior art to correct these imperfections, for example, when the model is a gold structure. One method previously attempted has been to add wax to the model. This has proven unacceptable, however, since the wax can "slide" on the model, leading to further imperfections or distortions in the design. Moreover, it is difficult to work with wax, since the wax deforms too easily during handling.
The preferred method presently used involves the use of heat and solder. Soldered, heat-treated or torched areas of the model harden upon cooling, resulting in durable corrections in the model which are not easily deformed. However, the use of heat and solder has numerous disadvantages of its own. One particular disadvantage is that soldering makes it difficult to have combinations of multiple elements joined together as part of the jewelry model (particularly if they are small), or to add elements to the model. For example, if it is desired to have multiple gold beads on the model, the use of heat or solder can melt the beads, causing them to become deformed, and perhaps even ruining the gold beads entirely. Any technique using high temperatures would, in fact, face this problem and other similar ones, due to the effects of the heat on metal elements, particularly small elements or ones of certain compositions.
Accordingly, there is currently a need in the art for an improved method of refining jewelry models which overcomes the shortcomings currently present in the prior art. There is also a need for a corrective material which can be used to adjust the shape or appearance of jewelry models, or to correct imperfections therein, without the use of high temperatures.